The First Line of Defense 
A few hundred USDA inspectors are the first line of defense against 
pest entry. About 100 men--veterinarians and trained lay inspectors-- 
make up the port and border personnel assigned to halt the introduction 
of animal diseases. About 400 trained inspectors are guardians in a similar 
way to keep out plant pests. All are stationed at those ports of entry where 
they can do the most good. The headquarters from which the work is di- 
rected is at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. 
Some of the ways and means by which the two agencies keep out pests and 
diseases are shown on the following page. 
The Second Line of Defense 
Cooperation by other officials and by the public--individuals and 
groups--is so essential to success that it is considered the second line 
of defense. Continuing efforts are being made to expand this participation, 
which has proved so helpful ‘‘to multiply the hands’’ of the USDA inspectors, 
Besides the U.S. Customs Service, which does teamwork by formal 
arrangement, many agencies cooperate by notifying USDA inspectors of 
any clue to a pest-risk situation that they encounter around an international 
port or border station. This help is given by such agencies as the Armed 
Forces, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Public 
Health Service, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; also by many industry 
groups, such as cargo forwarders, longshoremen, and treating-plant op- 
erators. The U.S. Postal Service makes efforts to detect unauthorized 
plant and animal materials--and often halts some agricultural pest--in 
the course of its mail handling work. State and local quarantine officers 
also give valuable cooperation. 
The traveling public is increasingly helpful as it gains understanding 
of the serious consequences that can come throughintroducing agricultural 
pests in baggage. 
Efforts to enlist cooperation are extended to other countries, to 
strengthen our pest barrier and theirs also. For example, scientists and 
research stations in a number of countries now forward reports on pest 
outbreaks in their countries to one central agency. This agency alerts the 
cooperating countries to be on the lookout for spread of these pests. 
Another example of international cooperation is the training of foreign 
technicians in plant quarantine principles at our school at the port of New 
York and the training of foreign veterinarians at various locations in the 
United States. This has been done since 1951, using funds provided by 
the State Department’s International Cooperation Administration. Students 
from 36 countries have taken this opportunity to strengthen the protection 
of agriculture in their own lands. The United States has benefited through 
the improved protection abroad of agricultural goods we import. 
A Year's Work 
The workload accomplished in hunting for foreign pestsis greater each 
year, because travel and transport continue tosetnew records for volume. 
Each year more pests are caught. 
